{"id":554783,"date":"2026-04-28T09:24:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T09:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/554783\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T09:24:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T09:24:14","slug":"cunha-injury-latest-thiagos-off-night-casemiros-form","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/554783\/","title":{"rendered":"Cunha injury latest, Thiago’s off-night + Casemiro’s form"},"content":{"rendered":"

An entertaining clash at Old Trafford rounded off Blank Gameweek 34.<\/p>\n

Here are our notes from Manchester United 2-1 Brentford.<\/p>\n

CUNHA INJURY LATEST + DORGU RETURNS<\/p>\n

Matheus Cunha (\u00a38.1m) missed out on the action altogether.<\/p>\n

United had originally claimed his absence from training last Thursday was because he was on a \u201crecovery day\u201d<\/a> but it became clear from Michael Carrick\u2019s pre-match comments that there was more to it than that.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t sound too big an issue, at least.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just had a bit of a sore hip flexor after the Chelsea game. It looked promising in the week but he didn\u2019t recover in time, as hoped.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nothing too serious but, unfortunately, he misses out tonight.\u201d \u2013 Michael Carrick on Matheus Cunha, speaking ahead of kick-off<\/p>\n

Cunha\u2019s absence coincided with the return from injury of the man Carrick originally opted for on the left wing back in January: Patrick Dorgu (\u00a34.1m). The Danish defender didn\u2019t get off the bench on Monday, however, having only just reappeared following a three-month absence.<\/p>\n

Amad Diallo (\u00a36.2m) instead got the nod on the left against Brentford but was pretty poor, and was hooked at the break.<\/p>\n

GOOD STUFF FROM BOTH SIDES\"\"<\/p>\n

Amad may not have impressed in the opening 45 minutes but it was a humdinger of a first half, with chances at both ends.<\/p>\n

Carrick called it \u201cas good as we\u2019ve started a game\u201d. Amad should have scored after some brilliant work from Kobbie Mainoo\u00a0(\u00a34.7m), and Harry Maguire (\u00a34.4m) saw a header clawed off the line before Casemiro (\u00a35.7m) nodded United in front after 11 minutes.<\/p>\n

Back came Brentford, with Michael Kayode (\u00a34.6m) spurning a great chance shortly after Casemiro\u2019s strike. Keane Lewis-Potter (\u00a34.8m) was impressive down the Bees\u2019 left.<\/p>\n

Then there were the chances that weren\u2019t, the heavy touches taken by the likes of Bryan Mbeumo (\u00a38.4m) and Igor Thiago (\u00a37.4m) that the shot count won\u2019t reflect. Make no mistake, these were openings as good as any recognised goal attempt.<\/p>\n

Benjamin Sesko (\u00a37.3m), who survived on scraps, put United 2-0 up just before the break. Bruno Fernandes (\u00a310.4m), who created a game-high five chances, supplied his 20th FPL assist of 2025\/26 in doing so.<\/a><\/p>\n

And then, half-time. It was a significant point in the game, as Carrick changed formation during it. Off went Amad. Out went the 4-2-3-1, in came an Amorin-esque wing-back system. Designed to make the game less of a basketball match, it largely worked, although Dango Ouattara (\u00a35.8m) \u2013 as he seems to do every fixture \u2013 had two excellent chances to reduce the arrears, hitting the post with one header.<\/p>\n

Mathias Jensen (\u00a34.9m) then fired in a consolation from range.<\/p>\n

\u201c[I decided I would change shape] five minutes before half-time, maybe five, six minutes before the second goal. Yeah, we just felt we were a\u00a0little bit too open at certain times, and we still\u00a0could be dangerous, but we wanted to stop certain\u00a0spaces and have a little bit more control within\u00a0the game and still carry the threat. So, it was\u00a0purely tactical. I think, second half, we came out\u00a0and actually had control and still went forward,\u00a0looked dangerous, and it was what the game needed\u00a0at that point, really.\u201d \u2013 Michael Carrick<\/p>\n

A good advert for both sides\u2019 attacks, really, even if they weren\u2019t clinical. Carrick\u2019s conservative formation change was about as big a compliment as Brentford could get.<\/p>\n

THIAGO\u2019S OFF NIGHT\"Cunha<\/p>\n

Thiago finished on zero shots\/xG. A quiet game for the striker, then?<\/p>\n

Not in the least, but it was most definitely an off-night in terms of finishing.<\/p>\n

Twice he saw the whites of the goalkeeper\u2019s eyes, and twice he inexplicably dawdled.<\/p>\n

Look away, Igor Thiago owners \ud83e\udee3<\/p>\n

The forward couldn\u2019t get his shot away on either of these chances<\/p>\n

#FPL<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/n466qMutUX<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) April 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Shortly after that double-chance, Thiago was inches from connecting with a cross, only for Ayden Heaven (\u00a33.7m) to almost shoulder it into his own goal.<\/p>\n

The Brazilian\u2019s misery was compounded in the second half when a Dango miss deprived him of an assist, then he was booked.<\/p>\n

An evening to forget for his owners, then, but still encouragement in so much that he was getting in all the right areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but I think that\u2019s the story of the game, really. I think you\u2019ve got one team that was pretty clinical in the opportunities that they got. I feel like, for us, for the next step, I suppose, is being able to come and perform like that, control large parts of the game. We created some really good opportunities, but unfortunately, weren\u2019t able to take them. That\u2019s not just Thiago. That\u2019s numerous players; we need to be killers in those situations and put the opportunities away or make the right decision.\u201d \u2013 Keith Andrews<\/p>\n

CASEMIRO CONTINUES PURPLE PATCH\"Cunha<\/p>\n

Casemiro\u2019s excellent form under Carrick continues. He\u2019s started every game under his new manager, and averages 5.6 points per match in doing so.<\/p>\n

Fernandes and Morgan Gibbs-White (\u00a37.6m) are the only midfielders to outscore him since the change in management.<\/p>\n

The set-piece threat we lavished praise on a fortnight ago<\/a> led to another goal on Monday, while he racked up a phenomenal 25 defensive contributions against the Bees.<\/p>\n

MOST DEFENSIVE CONTRIBUTIONS (DEFCON) IN A SINGLE MATCH THIS SEASONDefConPlayerPos.ClubGameweekOpposition29James GarnerMIDEVEGW22v AVL (A)28Curtis JonesMIDLIVGW33v EVE (A)25Mats WiefferMIDBHAGW13v NFO (A)25CasemiroMIDMUNGW34v BRE (H)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s now just one blank in eight Gameweeks for the veteran Brazilian, who departs at the end of 2025\/26.<\/p>\n

END-OF-SEASON MOTIVATION<\/p>\n

Champions League qualification is all but assured for United now. Is the beach calling for the Red Devils, then?<\/p>\n

Not according to Carrick.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, it\u2019s one part of it. But it\u2019s not everything.\u00a0Qualifying for the Champions League is important, of course it is. At one stage, it looked in the distance, if I\u2019m honest, but now it looks like we\u2019re in a really good position.<\/p>\n

\u201cCredit to the boys for that but it\u2019s certainly not what we\u2019re settling for. We want bigger than that, more than that. We want to finish as high up the league as we possibly can.\u201d \u2013 Michael Carrick<\/p>\n

Brentford, meanwhile, are still locked in a titanic battle for sixth, which may even be enough for Champions League qualification.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Above iamge from BBC Sport<\/a><\/p>\n

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